6 best CPUs for your computer in 2024
The most productive processors of 2024 (photo: Unsplash)
The choice of processor is a key point when building a gaming computer, which directly affects the performance and quality of the gaming experience. In 2024, the market offers many powerful solutions to handle the most demanding games, according to PC Gamer, a computer gaming website.
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the best gaming processor at the moment. It outperforms the top Intel processor in terms of gaming frame rates at a lower price and lower power consumption.
Processors with 3D V-Cache are more efficient than the first Ryzen 7000 chips. The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is better suited for pure gaming tasks due to its superior performance and more affordable price (below $400).
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (photo: PC Gamer)
Intel Core i5 13400F
The Intel Core i5 13400F is the best budget processor available for gaming. It offers impressive performance for the price. Intel processors have been known to crash, but the 13400F is less prone to this due to its lower power consumption.
A BIOS update is expected to resolve the crash issue. The 13400F has 10 cores, including 6 high-performance cores. It competes well with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, but the AMD chip is better suited for productivity and content creation. Intel motherboards are usually cheaper than AMD.
The 13400F does not have built-in graphics, but this is not a serious problem for most gamers.
Intel Core i5 13400F (photo: PC Gamer)
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X delivers incredible gaming power, does a great job with office tasks, and costs a very reasonable amount of money.
AMD's AM5 platform has been around for a while, but it's still fairly new, so motherboards can be quite expensive for the functionality on offer.
This is an eight-core processor with 16 threads. Not the most exciting set of specs, but the important thing is that eight cores is the ideal number for gaming right now, and this particular chip can run at up to 5.4 GHz to squeeze the most out of it.
There is one drawback, however, and that is heat. The 7700X likes to put a strain on cooling systems, so you'll need a large air cooler to prevent trotting.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (photo: PC Gamer)
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Ryzen 9 9950X is the best processor for high-end productivity and content creation. It provides a significant performance boost in multi-threaded tasks compared to the previous generation (Ryzen 9 7950X and 7950X3D).
Ryzen 9 7950X3D remains the best choice for gaming. Both the Ryzen 9 9950X and 7950X processors have 16 cores and 32 threads, but the 9950X uses the improved Zen 5 architecture.
A power-saving mode is available to reduce power consumption and temperature without significantly affecting performance. The processor requires careful BIOS and system configuration to achieve maximum performance.
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (photo: PC Gamer)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D is the best choice for an AM4 platform upgrade, offering excellent performance at a much lower price than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
The 5700X3D is almost identical to the 5800X3D, but with lower base and boost frequencies, and overclocking is not supported. Despite the lower frequencies, the 5700X3D delivers excellent gaming performance, especially thanks to the 3D V-Cache.
The price of the 5700X3D is around $200, making it a budget processor that allows you to invest the money you save in improving other PC components.
For an AM4 system, this is the best upgrade, although you should take into account the possible temperature increase and the need for improved cooling.
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D (photo: PC Gamer)
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
The Ryzen 7 8700G, the top-of-the-line chip, can replace entry-level graphics cards, providing the ability to play 1080p without a separate graphics card.
The 8700G utilizes Radeon 780M integrated graphics based on RDNA 3 architecture, which is the most powerful integrated desktop solution available.
While the 8700G's graphics performance is impressive, its overall performance as a CPU is inferior to other models such as the Ryzen 7000-series or Ryzen 7 5700X3D for AM4.
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G (photo: PC Gamer)
